R E A C T I V E
by Melodicholy
Summary: When the large creature suddenly stood up, I turned my head slowly, trying my best not to tremble in fear. I then could see it, whatever it was was long and thin, it had short brown fur that shone blue in the crack of light. I could tell by it's blazing green eyes and it's rectangular, horizontal pupils focused on me. It saw me.
1. Prologue

**A/N**

 **Finally! After over 10 rereads and a week... the prologue to Reactive is finally here! The story will mostly be in Oliver's view, but it'll sometimes switch to other POVs. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _What… Where am I…?_

I slowly lifted my heavy eyelids, unable to see well through the mass of carnage and smoke. My limited eyesight was already blurred so even if I did see something, I wouldn't be able to make it out. I squirmed a little, my limbs felt numb and there was massive weight on my leg and stomach. With one free hand, I rubbed my eyelid to see better- it had worked. Although I was basically swallowed in darkness and smoke, I could see faint silhouettes of...limp bodies? I slowly feel panic rise in my heart, I could smell the stench of death and blood all over this place. I immediately tried to lift myself from the crushing weight, feeling the panicky grip of cleithrophobia. As I managed to slide myself out enough to prop up on my elbows, my eyes widened at the sight of my brothers.

"L….Lui?" I choked out, my throat was sore and dry. His arms were wrapped around me and there was two deep slices in his back; clots of crusting blood were surrounding the open wound. My throat began to sting and my vision blurred again. He died protecting me from whatever slaughtered him like that. In my peripheral view, I could see a flash of white hair. Looking to the side, I finally saw what caught my eye. It was my younger brother Piko….smothered in blood. I finally gave in to the temptation to vomit, this was too much, this had to be a dream. This is not real.

Suddenly, the events from earlier flew to my mind. I was out shopping with Piko, Lui and his friend, Ring. My throat clenched up at the thought of the memory, tears ran down my bloodied face. I continued to squirm out from underneath my brother, with the dead weight making it difficult to move, it took a while. I then started to shake my older brother in some hope of him still being alive. Although I knew it already, most of the stench came from them and they were stone cold. "Lui...Piko...we need to leave this place..." I pitifully choked between low sobs. They were dead, and I would never see them nor their goofy smiles ever again.

I don't know how long I sat there, hugging their battered, bloody bodies when I heard a loud thump echo through this death ridden place. I instantly froze, panic began to grip at my heart again. My limbs hurt excessively and I couldn't move without sharp pain shooting up my leg. I tried to get up, but to no avail, the pain was too much and I sank back to the filthy ground. I jumped in fear as I heard a loud thump right next to me. Instinctively, I fell limp and closed my eyes in some sort of attempt to play dead- this is my last resort. My eyes were already adjusted to the dark place, so I could at least see better than I did before. And then I saw it. Whatever was sniffing around had long, brown legs and short- yet sharp claws. It was probably the size of three or four people, I couldn't exactly tell how big it was due to the thick smoke all over the place.

It was incredibly difficult not to cry in terror when the faint silhouette of the beast started to chew noisily at a dead body. That's it, I couldn't stay here any longer if I wanted to live. As I tried to my best to make use of my panicky mind and brainstorm an escape plan, a thought unexpectedly came to my mind. _Where is Ring?_ I could feel guilt build in my chest once I realized I had just forgot about her. She was not only Lui's friend, she was also a close friend to me and Piko. All I saw was my brothers, but she also tagged along on our little shopping trip, so where was she? If Ring wasn't here, there might be a chance she was still alive, and they could leave this place and figure out this madness. I decided to slowly inch away from the creature, this place wasn't too big, so I could hopefully find Ring before anything bad could happen.

It was almost eternity just climb to over the dead bodies to the other side, all because of my leg. The smell of bile mixed with blood would've made me vomit again, but there was no more contents left in my stomach. Even if I did, that would give way to my location and whatever that thing was would know I'm alive and kill me right on the spot. There was only a small amount of light coming from the opening in this den-like bloodbath, but I could manage to at least see the features of these bloody faces. I was for certain that Ring was nowhere in this side of the den. When the large creature suddenly stood up, I turned my head slowly, trying my best not to tremble in fear. I then could see it, whatever it was was long and thin, it had short brown fur that shone blue in the crack of light. I could tell by it's blazing green eyes and it's rectangular, horizontal pupils focused on me.

It saw me.

 _Crap!_

Fear must've obscured all the rest of the common sense I had when I leapt to my feet, only to collapse on the blood covered bodies beneath me. I shrieked as pain split up my blurred my vision again as I clutched my injured leg. I started to shake in pure terror of what's to happen as the large creature approached through the smoke. This was it, I was going to die in this death ridden place. There was nothing I could do about it. I closed my eyes and fearfully accepted my fate as the beast's steps became closer and louder- everything seemed to have slowed down at that point.

Out of the blue, a series of gunfire sliced into earshot. I immediately took my chance and screamed at the top of my lungs for help. Although this would just make the creature more intent to kill me, I knew I might die if I didn't. This was my slim chance, and if I failed to call for help, I'll die. It brutally slammed it's paw on my back, cutting my scream off. I yelped in pain, it's pressure on my spine was immense, I'm surprised my back isn't broken already. Outside, I could hear loud, sharp orders and echoing gunshots all over the place. I silently prayed that they heard me for as I could speak no longer. With all this pressure against my lungs, I could barely get any air and I was slowly slipping into unconsciousness. My eyelids started to weigh down yet again, nearly forcing me to close my eyes in which, I obeyed.

However, the weight seemed to become imbalanced as my eyes snapped open when I heard a series of ear splitting bangs. The pressure on my back wobbled for a while, then vanished. I inhaled as much air as humanly possible, and turned my head to see my savior. It was too dark and clouded by the smoke, and I couldn't see from across the den. Eventually, the gunshots ceased, and I couldn't hear anything else except the unintelligible sounds outside. "Are you okay? Say something so I can find you." I heard a masculine tone echo. I tried my best to make the simplest of sounds to come out, but what I heard myself was small and incoherent. But nonetheless, the nonsense of a sound actually could be heard from the man, and he had made his way over to me. My mind immediately flew back to Ring again as the man told me he was going to lift me. "R-Ring... please.. find her..." Was all the words I could muster. But the man stopped speaking and slowly nodded in understandment. Despite barely being able to see in this place, I could catch glimpses of his unusually long purple hair and shining purple eyes. He looked intimidatingly tall. After handing me a medical face mask, he gently scooped me up into his arms and proceeded to leave this place. Before exiting, I made sure to take a look at the deceased creature that had almost taken my life a moment ago. It had long and thin legs and a long muzzle. Its feet were like a furry lizards', and it had a set of four long teeth. I stared at it in shock, what was this thing? It seemed like a mix between a goat and a dog. With all the questions swirling around in my head, I couldn't bring myself to ask them due to the pain in my lungs and chest.

Just then I knew, the memory from minutes ago would haunt me forever.

It took me a while for my eyes to get adjusted to the nearly blinding light of noon. There was a lot more smoke outside than in the den, the stomach churning scent of blood was replaced with a smell of fire. Ashes lie scattered all over the place, and what used to be a stray mattress, lie covered in black. It was only a matter of minutes of walking before we finally arrive to small group of people gathered around a tame fire. As soon as we arrived, all eyes turned to us. One of them- a tall blue haired man - stood up to help my carrier lie me down on a vacant sofa. I look around at my surroundings, I see other vacant mattresses and sofas around me, one of them occupied with a small blue haired girl. At first I thought she was Ring but alas, Ring had long hair whereas this girl's hair had a slight tinge of purple. I swivel my head to my left, where the bunch were conversing over the fire. A blonde haired girl seemed to be deep in a debate with another white haired girl meanwhile the others appeared to be idly chatting. I turned my head slightly towards the two tall men conversing right next to me and decided to listen in on what seemed to be their plan.

"...friend Ring, but not a single soul in there was alive except him, I need to look around." The taller of the two, the purple haired one said. I could feel myself tense up at that sentence. _What if Ring is dead? I never finished searching for her..._ "Gakupo, we can't afford to send you back out there, look at your shoulder! You'll die of blood loss before you even get back there. Gumi is still gone and here you are, injured and wanting to find somebody who could be anywhere." The blue haired man sighed. "I'm going to send IA and Len to look for her. You should get that treated and then rest." According what that blue guy had said, Gakupo must have a severe shoulder wound. "...Make sure you tell them to ask him how she looks. Knowing IA, she would be too unfocused and Len would be too busy brainstorming an ambush." Seems the purple guy had given up on their small argument, and left the scene. I heard the other man's footsteps head over to the right and call two names unknown to me. "IA and Len, come over."

"Yeah, Kaito? What do you need?" He heard a boyish voice casually reply. " I'm sending you two to go find a friend of that new rescue's. Gakupo found him in a den under the mall. Be sure to..." Somehow, although I was listening intently, his voice seemed to tune out by itself and everything faded to black again.

* * *

"Oi, Blondie. Wake up." I slowly opened my eyes to see a blonde boy with a ponytail and spiky hair, prodding me with an old telephone handle. Instinctively, I lazily swatted his hand away, making an irritable grumble before attempting to prop myself on an arm. Bad idea. Splitting pain seared through my spine and I fell down in the cushy sofa and groaned. My spine hurt like crazy and I couldn't even feel my leg anymore, so it wasn't that much of a pain, now. "You seriously need to fix that arm and leg of yours." The boy commented nonchalantly, pointing to his leg. Yes, his clothes were bloody and torn because of all the crawling he had done and the damage that monster had done to him, but beneath that was two large holes. That beast must've bit him before he had awoke. "Here, I'll send Luka to come and treat those wounds, but for now I'll just ask you some questions." Len said, shrugging. "All I need is you to tell me how your friend looks." Without hesitance, I then proceeded to tell him every feature I had at the top of my the blonde introduced himself as "Len" before he ran off with the girl whom they call "IA", I prayed that they would come back with Ring, currently the only person I know that might be still alive.

I continued my observance to these mysterious people after a kind woman named Luka had treated my wounds. They all seemed tense, and I wanted to interrogate them so much. But my chest hurt too much to make a squeak, so as I had decided before I even arrived here- I would save my questions for later. I remained awake for hours, listening for anyone's announcement of the two's arrival. Time silently flew by as the sofas began to fill with numerous rescued people, and before I knew it, Len and IA arrived. They had said they didn't see Ring in a three mile perimeter. I didn't know wether to be relieved that she probably alive, or to be mourning that she could be one of the many skeletons that IA mentioned. Either way, I needed to find Ring before she gets killed by one of those things. Slowly but surely, the evening darkened to night, and along with the other people in this group, I fell asleep thinking only one single thought.

She has to be alive.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Chapter one will probably be posted soon, considering that I'm already starting on it. Please don't hate me for killing off Piko and Lui before the story even started! OAO I didn't know who else to choose for that role, so I just picked Lui and Piko. I tried my best for this to not be rushed, but I still think it is. Also please let me know if any of you see any errors or typos, I will greatly appreciate it!**


	2. Chapter One

**A/N**

 **Just a little note. Unlike the prologue, this will be in third person, a writing style i'm more comfortable in. I decided to not draw this chapter out and to chop it in half, so the scene after the end of this is already written.**

 **Enjoy!~**

* * *

 _A short, yellow-eyed blonde rubbed his temple. He had just awoke to the smell of eggs and hearing his older brother's call. It was summer break so he and his brothers had a lot of plans. He slowly and groggily crawled out of the bed as he checked his digital clock. His clock lie next to his bed, on a small, round table along with an off-white lamp he'd bought a week ago. It read thirteen minutes to eight AM. He then yawned and turned to grab his permanent marker to sign today's date on his calendar before putting on his pale blue slippers and exiting the room._

 _"Ah, you're finally awake Oliver." A taller blonde- Lui said. He was cooking tamagoyaki, wearing a suspiciously happy grin. That's when it dawned on Oliver that today all three of them- including a friend of theirs called Ring were going shopping today. Ring was Lui's friend as well as Oliver and Piko's. As soon as Lui introduced Ring to both Piko and Oliver could tell that he liked her, and they began to tease him about it shortly after. It had to be because of the day's plans that would explain Lui's uncommon behavior._

 _"Don't forget, Oliver and Piko. We're going out shopping with Ring today." He said as he set down the plates of food on the table. Oliver rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know, Lui. We're going shopping with your girlfriend today, you reminded me twice yesterday." Piko simply snickered at this, before continuing to eat his meal. "For the last time, Oliver. She's not my girlfriend. All we are is very close friends." Lui elucidated as calmly as possible. Oliver could swear he saw a blush on his brother's face. He would've pointed that out, but he was tired and still half-asleep. So he decided to keep quiet and begin eating._

 _"Maybe this one?" Lui asked Ring, pointing to a large white box with a picture of a blue and white tent on it. They were going camping for two weeks and right now Lui was debating with Ring on which tent to buy while Oliver just watched with a blank face. Once they arrive at the next section, they'll do another duel of Rock, Paper, Scissors for who pushes the immensely heavy cart. Oliver was itching with the anticipation of winning the next round. Hopefully, Piko and his "Epic Strategy of Winning" won't defeat him this time. "Hmm... it looks large enough to hold all four of us." Ring observed, bringing the large white box out of the shelf and reading its features. "And it looks pretty durable if any bad weather comes out on us." Piko noted out loud._

 _Oliver bent down looked at the picture of the large tent in which, was plastered on the box. Both Piko and Ring were correct. It was large enough hold more than the four of them, and it had thick, sleek looking fabric. "I suppose this'll do, seeing all the others look pretty frail." Oliver said, taking another glance at the other, mud brown colored tents. "Well then, this tent it is." Lui announced, nearly yelling. "So we're done with this section?" Oliver asked, sounding almost excited and eager. Piko smirked, Oliver could already see that little brain strategizing and moving like clockwork._ Piko has his little strategies... _Oliver thought._ And I have mine!

 _Depressingly so, Oliver had lost to all but one of five rounds. Making Piko win to four, it was as if he had already knew his strategy from the beginning! But unfortunately for Ring, she had to do the carting._

 _With an addition of a thirty-five pound tent._

 _Piko was smirking evilly throughout the whole competition. This was annoying Oliver to oblivion. Since when did Piko start surpassing his older brothers in Rock, Paper, Scissors? He embarrassingly lost to a thirteen year old in something that Oliver had been playing since he was four. Well let's see about that... Oliver smirked and reached in his pocket for his phone. He quickly tapped the search engine app and typed:_

 _"How towin to a 13 yr old in Rok papale rscissors."_

 _Okay, he had some trouble typing on a touchscreen, so what? His typographical errors didn't concern him right now, he needed to win a series of rounds to Piko. There was a small group of people watching him lose for god's sake!_

 _As they were about to turn into the frozen foods section, a distant fearful scream resounded through the store, stopping every soul in their tracks. It abruptly cut off, and in a matter of seconds a large wave of customers and employees raced to the exit which was not too far from the aisle the four had turned into. Another customer with short brown hair and glasses walked hurriedly to the end of the aisle to investigate this fiasco. In a split second he too, joined the crowd and screamed for his life._

 _Ring grabbed he and Piko's hands tightly, her ocean blue eyes pouring anxiety and panic. Just as Lui began to pace forward to copy the other customers' actions, Piko turned to see something utterly foriegn to the group. Oliver couldn't open his mouth to say anything at all. There was no words to even describe anything that was going on. This thing was some sort of colossal bird mixed with a dog and a goat. It's pupils were horizontal it had the head of a dog, just very flat. The rest was too peculiar for the fifteen year old blonde to even attempt to describe._

 _Lui grabbed Ring's hand and started running to the exit as fast as humanly possible, dragging along Piko and Oliver as well. "Do not let go of my hand!" Lui yelled over the cacophony of the people they ran alongside to keep up with Lui, Oliver grabbed Piko's hand tightly and sped up until everyone was beside one another._

 _The four were rapidly reaching the automatic slide doors that led to the outside of the mall. Oliver glanced behind him and saw the creatures pursuing the crowd until they managed to pick unfortunate people from the crowd. Oliver closed his eyes and ran faster than he had ever done in his life. And that's when Lui's hand was snagged quickly and he was yanked to the left, causing everyone to tumble over and fall. Oliver quickly tried to get out and regain his stance until his head harshly collided with a large work boot. Everything started fading from his view and he swore he could hear familiar screams along the others._

* * *

Oliver jumped awake, his heart pounding loudly in his throat. He had been having that same dream identical to the events that happened five months ago. He would probably memorize the same tragic events for the rest of his life. Oliver tossed the cover off, and then sat along the edge of the leather sofa. He agreed to the join the nameless group three months ago to help exterminate these species and save lives along the way. He was still in training, being taught how to fight and kill these things by IA and occasionally, Rin.

Oliver much preferred being trained by IA instead. Rin and IA were most definitely polar opposites. With IA, it was much more easy to understand what she was talking about, and she explained the moves step-by-step. Rin on the other hand, was more impatient and harsh. Every mistake was cut off by a "No! That's not how you do it! Again!", she explain things horrendously like "And then you do this, and that's it.". The fact that Rin was a skilled fighter was more than true, but Oliver would never wish to be mentored by someone so inexplicably impatient as her. Oliver checked his digital wristwatch, it read four eighteen PM. He rose of the bed, still experiencing the freedom of being bedridden for three months in overjoy. They still camp near the mall, because one of their members still have not returned yet.

Oliver has overheard many arguments, ranging from small conflict to full out fights. Most of the fights involved Len, some with him arguing against their leader, Meiko. That's how Oliver came up with a confirmed theory that they were very close friends. Oliver walked over to the small fire that was just started by Aoki. Aoki was the girl who had been rescued from the same mall incident from nearly five months ago. A month or two after that unfortunate incident they became good friends. She could easily be described as nearly infinitesimal but she was also a good fighter, from (unfortunately) being trained by Rin. Oliver would've been finished his training long ago if IA hadn't been summoned to missions all the time.

"Hello, Oliver. How's your leg doing?" Aoki greeted as she stood to face him. "I can move it without it hurting anymore. I have to give thanks to you, IA and Luka for the help." Oliver said, mentioning IA's hospital raids with Aoki and Luka's treatments. Aoki smiled lightly. "It's always good to help others in need. That's how we're still here." She replied. Oliver took a seat on one of the old cushioned chairs that were placed in front of the fire. Beside him sat Miku, another recruit rescued from a dilapidated house. She was talking to Gakupo about the new gang that was repetitively attacking us. Hopefully it won't develop into a fight over leaving or not. The one furthest away from the crowd would had to have been Len, who glared at nothing in particular. Ever since that last quarrel with Meiko and Rin, he had been holding a grudge.

"Accept it Len, Gumi's dead." Rin had said in the argument they had just five days ago. No one knew that those five words would throw Len off kilter. He refused to talk to either Meiko nor Rin, and he would wander off, scanning for any signs of Gumi's arrival. Oliver pitied Len's frustration. Losing someone you're so close to was an awful feeling, but if he approached him, he feared he would only make things worse.

Meiko was also stressing, too. If she left, she might lose Gumi and whatever recruits she may have. But, if she'd stay who knows how many of us would die. There were minor attacks from another, larger group of people. Meiko and Len tried to talk sense into them, but instead of being rewarded with peace, they earnt nasty scars. That's when the "leave or stay" arguments started. Oliver sighed, he personally wanted to leave and cease the battles. "What's wrong?" Aoki, whom was seated next to him said. "I really think we should leave before someone dies." He confesses. Aoki and Gakupo were the few people he was comfortable to say that to without starting some sort of ridiculous fight. "I agree too, as heartbreaking it may be... Len may have to let his hopes go." Aoki said, shaking her head ever so slightly. Oliver stared at the horizon, thinking about Aoki's sentence. What if Ring was dead? Just like Len, Oliver couldn't accept that. She had to be somewhere far away, knowing that throughout this entire city, no one has matched his in-depth description of her.

"SeeU?! Kaito and Yuma?!" IA exclaimed, causing everybody to turn their heads in unison. There they were, SeeU, Kaito and Yuma beaten and bloody. Yuma was bleeding on his side, chest and arms profusely. Kaito has shot in the leg numerous times and leaned on SeeU, who had knife wounds all over. "What the hell happened?!" Oliver demanded, rising from his seat at once. "We were trying to get more food and medicine from the mall... but it was inhabited by the gang and we were attacked..." Yuma explained, panting heavily. "Luka! Miku! Prepare the beds and medicine!" Meiko commanded. Oliver could feel the wind of how fast Miku rushed off towards the field of sofas and beds. From the corner of his eye, he could see Luka go into the supplement van. Oliver, Meiko, Aoki, Gakupo, Len and Rin hurried to the injured trio and moved them to the designated beds that Miku had prepared. They moved their members in pairs- Meiko and Rin took Kaito, Gakupo and Oliver helped Yuma, and Len and Aoki with SeeU. Once they were set down on the beds, Oliver could hear Rin ask Kaito something. "Where is Mizki?" Only a long, silence pause could answer that. Len's eyes widened, his whole face spelling distraught. Oliver froze in shock. It happened, one of their members died from the gang. After a long silence, Luka arrived with the medicine and told them to leave so she could treat the injuries.

"Now do you understand why we need to leave?" Rin snapped, rounding on an already guilty Len. They returned to their respective seats, as well as Aoki- who looked as if she were about to cry. Oliver hugged her, trying his best to comfort the small girl. Mizki and Aoki were best friends, and now Mizki was abruptly stripped of her life. Aoki was not the only one entranced in a state of melancholy, Yuma's quiet sobs could be heard over the fire. "Look at them, Len!" Rin grabbed his face and forced it to face the injured three. "Mizki is dead all because of your dumbass self!" She spat, enraged and upset by what they figured out from just a minute ago. "Rin!" Oliver yelled. "Starting fights won't solve anything." However, Rin didn't seem to even acknowledge his statement. Anyone could tell that Len was guilty, and that it finally dawned on him that people are dying because of his inanity. Rin continued her rant at Len, who just solemnly looked at the ground.

"Rin! Stop it, now!" Meiko demanded. She quickly made her way to Rin and pushed her out of Len's face. Len was silently crying stoically, the tears sparkling red from the flames. Oliver was trying to stop Rin from denigrating her younger brother any further while trying to comfort the small crying girl in his arms. Like Len, she didn't scream in hysteria like some sort of princess that stepped in dirt,she was silent. "Shh..." Oliver whispered as he pet her head. It was what his mother used to always do whenever he had a cold, he hoped this would work. He sighed, he joined to save lives... not to just sit here and die.

* * *

"Everyone wake up!" Meiko yelled through a large megaphone, startling everybody- awake and asleep. Oliver crawled out a mud brown tent, instantly noticing the dark sky of dawn. "Of all times she announces at this hour?" Luka murmured as she walked from where she was checking up on SeeU. Nobody had really slept that night, Rin stood on watch while Len, Aoki, Oliver and Meiko stayed awake. Luka and Miku watched the three case anything happened. Oliver had just gotten tired enough to close his eyes for an hour or so before Meiko started yelling through the megaphone. Behind him stood Gakupo, IA, Miku and Luka.

"Once Kaito, SeeU, and Yuma are done with their treatment, we're leaving this place." Meiko announces in front of the crowd. Now that everybody had awoke she didn't need the megaphone. Some gasped, others cheered, some scowled and some like Oliver himself, stayed silent. Len, surprisingly so, had a look of determination as Meiko announced this. Oliver was starting to miss his trademark smile. Len was obviously nothing like he was three months back. Oliver sighed. Once they leave, things just might come back to normal. "Until then, we must stock up on supplies. Got it?"

They all muttered a yes.

"Good, now..." Meiko studied the group. "Gakupo, IA and Oliver." She tossed a tourists' guide with a map on it towards Oliver, who barely managed to catch it. A large circle of permanent marker was scribbled on a plaza on the map. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see IA peeked over his shoulder and looked at the map. "This will show you the way to a large pharmacy, grab any kind of medicine you can get and take leave. You'll depart at afternoon so you have plenty of time to get ready." Meiko turned to Rin and Aoki and tossed a partially torn map. "The mark shows where a small, far-off weaponry is. Take the supplement van and grab as much as you can. I mean it." "Do we also leave in the afternoon?" Aoki questioned. "You leave right now." Meiko replied as she walked away from the now dispersing small crowd.

* * *

Oliver trekked tirelessly through the city, void of it's residents. It was surprisingly hot for early october, and he more than liked it that way. Gakupo wiped his face with the sleeve of his purple T-shirt, he was panting heavily behind IA and Oliver as they conversed about plans to avoid running into any creatures or gang members. "Gakupo, you need to exercise more. The store is only three miles away!." IA sighed, swiveling her head to see Gakupo trudging slowly behind. Even though they eradicated nearly every one of those beasts, Oliver couldn't see how Gakupo was so out of shape, considering he still went along supplement missions with IA. Oliver decided that there other things to worry about, and he brushed the thought away.

Between a bank and another- seemingly untitled tall building, Oliver could see the striking colors of a deserted plaza. "Hey IA, lemme see that map." He said as he extended his arm for the paper. Once the object was thrusted into his palms, he scanned over the marked route they were using. He squinted as he bore his eyes into the small lettering of the name "Internet Plaza". Of course it was one weird, yet all too familiar name. But even after living for over fourteen years in this city, Oliver couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that out of an everlasting list of titles they could use, they chose 'Internet'. As they approached the empty plaza, Oliver scanned through the large sign towering over them. IA and Gakupo looked up to see the sign as well and began to murmur the listed names. "...Fred's diner... yep, this is the place." IA announced as she recognized their particular shop that they were assigned to raid. "Let's hurry; since we're on the outer part of the city, we don't know if there could be any of those things nearby." IA said, quickening her pace so that she was a little ahead of the others.

Once they arrived, they could already tell that someone- let it be something had gotten there first. The windows were broken and some of the merchandise laid on the ground, torn and contents spilling on the waxed floor. Gakupo held back a yelp at the sight of a rat scutting over his shoe. "Oliver..." IA ceased her slight snickering and straightened up to address her pupil. She then chucked a backpack to Oliver. "...clean the shelves, including you- Gakupo." With that, the white-haired girl left without another word. Oliver and Gakupo went separate ways, tossing any kind of medication into their bags. Oliver came across yet another aisle of pills and gummies. He soon decided to just wipe his hands against the products lazily as he walked through the short aisle, spilling them into his neon green backpack. Gakupo neatly yet rapidly plucked packs of sleeping pills into his bag. His hands began to blur as he plucked them off of the shelves. IA was at the tinctures section, grabbing armfuls and dumping them into a grocery bag that she snagged from the checkout section.

"Okay... I think this should be enough..." Oliver grunted as he struggled to hold the backpack stuffed with pills. Gakupo nodded, slinging the other backpack over shoulder effortlessly. So much for out of shape. Of course, even though he was being trained by two different people, he still was lanky. IA secured the backpack's straps on her shoulders and picked up both of her grocery bags. "Let's get outta here, we've been hanging around too long..." IA trailed off, already walked towards the exit. "IA! Wait a second... I still need to-" Oliver voice was cut off to the sound of nails clicking against the hard tiled floor. Gakupo turned around, gripping the handle of his katana.

"... _shit_..."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Yesss... It's finally done. I apologize for the sudden impact of plot in this chapter... ^^; The prologue was to only show how Oliver got into the group. And also on Len's behavior. Len is supposed to be in denial about Gumi's late arrival and is struggling about leaving or not. The incident in this chapter is very important to the plot. Very. To be honest, I'm not sure about pairings in this fic yet. In some points you could say Aoki x Oliver (which I don't even think is a thing yet), some others, Len x Gumi or any other suspected ships in this. And lastly- If you're confused at any point of this chapter, feel free to review or PM me. I'll be happy to explain it to you without spoilers.**


	3. Chapter Two

Oliver quietly set his backpack on the floor and reached in a pocket of his belt strap, slowly drawing out a dagger. He began to imagine the harsh steps Rin had taught him, as well as IA's calm instructions. Before anybody could comply to any strategized order, Gakupo made the first move, dashing toward the creature with his katana. "Gakupo you idiot!" Oliver screamed as he, too, started running toward the large dog-like thing. He dug his dagger deep into the creature's shoulder, earning a strange vibration-like screech. However, the wound did not seem to affect the creature's movements or reflexes to their attacks. It was almost as if it didn't do any damage at all."Oliver, you need to go for it's neck!" IA shouted above the screeches coming from the monster. Oliver obeyed, swiftly dodging it's large and snapping head to try and reach the neck of the beast. IA was shooting the beats with her rifle, but the bullets didn't seem to wound the creature. Just like it did not respond to the dagger injury in its shoulder.

The beast tried to stomp the trio to their deaths, but they nearly dodged it. Getting even more dangerous, it started to give up on its attacking pattern and swiped at IA, catching the skin of her arm and clothes only to drag her towards itself. Much to her luck, Gakupo noticed this and skillfully sliced the sleeve off. The beast's attack patterns were random unlike others, and they were slowly being worn out from dodging every attack it makes. Nothing seemed to work. The beast reared on it's hind legs, slicing through and skimming Oliver's skin. He yelped in pain at the contact, although it was a brief cut, it still hurt.

"I don't know..! This thing is different from the others... we have no choice! We need to run!" IA panted as she repeatedly dodged the monster's random attacks. Oliver couldn't help but agree with his mentor, as did Gakupo. All three of them turned to quickly grab their bags, IA could only manage to grab her backpack. Oliver still struggled with his load, but kept on anyway. "Go, go, go!" Gakupo said beside him, lowering his pace to assist him if needed. They didn't even think to stop and use the emergency exit, IA jumped over the broken window, and Gakupo and Oliver followed after. She led them to around a corner, slipping into the entrance of a business building. They ran up the stairs, not even caring about the creature pursuing them. After reaching the top floor, IA slowed to a stop. Gakupo and Oliver copied her actions, panting heavily. Oliver walked over to the stairs to make sure it was gone, the hallway- along with everything else in this building- was absent of any people or monsters.

"...I think we lost it..." Oliver gasped between pants. IA collapsed on one of the seats- an office couch, dropping her bag of medication on the carpeted floor. The place looked like a meeting room, with a large window and neat array of chairs. In the middle of the room laid a large, oval table. Oliver slid his hands on it before seating himself next to IA. Gakupo decided to sit near the stairway, keeping watch for the predator.

"Damn it, I lost my extra bags." IA said as she looked at her load, which was a grocery bag full of migraine pills. Oliver made sure to zip his backpack, so he didn't lose any of his load. "After this is dealt with, we should go back for it. Kaito and the others need this medicine." Oliver said, determination edging his tone. Both IA and Gakupo turned their heads, a peculiar twist of disbelief on their faces. "Huh?" They both blurted, their eyebrows raised as if he had claimed he was a unicorn. "Have you lost your mind, Oliver? You know the rule with these things: one means more." IA protested. "Would you let our cowardice snatch the lives of our fellow members?" Oliver replied. It was true, though. They did need to get the medicine before any more of them died.

IA didn't say anything, and just faced her head the other way, her face void of any expression Gakupo turned from his seat on the edge of the staircase. "Oliver, do you not understand the dangers of your idea? If we go in there, we'll die. And then not only the rest of us will lose three of their members, they won't have any medicine." Gakupo elucidated, he made it sound like a lecture. Oliver began to grow frustrated, don't they remember that they eliminated almost everyone of these things in the city, they were on the outskirts of this place, so of course there would a _few_. Oliver furrowed his eyebrows, did they only care for their lives? He remembered the scent, the sight of the coagulated blood of his brothers. He couldn't let another soul die.

"It's either a slight chance of running into those _things_ , and Kaito and the others getting proper medication. Or- fleeing with our tails between our legs and letting them die." Oliver snapped, disgusted by their disagreement. Gakupo stood up. "You obviously-" "Oh for god's sake! Shut up, or you'll draw it near us. Then they'll never get the medication." IA growled harshly, immediately making the other two shocked of the sudden tone. They both said nothing, and returned to their seats, Gakupo resumed to intently keep watch of the staircase, and Oliver leaning back on the couch, gazing out the large window which covered the whole wall. The city seemed normal, except for a few burnt down buildings here and there, because of the other gang's activity. Oliver sighed, it was like nothing ever happened. If he were to walk down every flight of stairs they climbed, and exit the building- everything would change. There would be dead bodies of once live and innocent people, more trash than before and blood everywhere.

Oliver continued staring at the peaceful view, it brought him to some state of content. Throughout all this tragedy, at least there was something beautiful left in this world. Smiling, his eyes began to feel heavy, and he drifted into a soft sleep.

* * *

The lifeless sand stuck to her battered running shoes, and she drew in a wavering breath. Her pace was fast and steady, and in her hand was one of another, younger girl. She had been in some tough spots but this was just madness, five months of nothing but this insanity. She grumbled, her shoes were torn and ready to fall apart, in her other hand she held a loaded sniper gun she had found. She wiped the sweat beads that were spilling on her forehead; they were gritty with dirt and sand particles. "Come on, guys. Just a little more to go." The scent of blood and infection was enough to make the girl vomit. She knew things would come down to this, but not to that extent.

The sixteen year old felt a soft tug on her torn jeggings. She looked down to see a younger rescue. "What is it, Yuki?" She said, her eyes baggy with sleep depravity. "I'm tired..." She mumbled, her attention drifting to the horizon. The girl picked Yuki up, and propped her on her shoulders. Although the girl herself had not yet slept in four days, she still made it her duty to protect the child, at least until she was reunited with her father. "There..." she said, smiling weakly. Behind her were even more tired group of people. Limping from wounds and wincing from large gashes on their sides. Even though she had just raided two medicine aisles of an abandoned supercenter last week, they had run out already. They had been stuck there for two months, and it was more than time to retreat back to her fellow members.

A yelp split into earshot, and the girl whipped her head to see one of her people fall to the ground. She turned around, Yuki still on her shoulders as she ran towards the person who had fell. "Are you alright?" The girl asked, her free hand gripping Yuki's foot, which was wrapped around her neck. The only answer was a groan and the girl stood up, facing the rest of the crowd. She walked over to a girl with red hair and two drills. "Teto..." she started, lowering Yuki down. "Take Yuki, I'm going to get supplies." She said as the redheaded girl reluctantly took the child's hand. "But..." she trailed off for as the girl was already gone. She sighs, and then looked down at the now, confused girl.

It was dark in the back of the supermarket they had stopped nearby. Even spite of the afternoon sun. She silently made her way to the pharmacy section, still holding her gun in her hand. The echo of her footsteps would be those of a cat's: stealthy and quiet. Opening her torn backpack she spilled any kind of gauze, alcohol, or peroxide. She looked to her left and right, keeping watch for any those monsters that had ambushed continuously for the past two months. She thought to bring someone with her, but she refused. They were her responsibility after all, and she couldn't let any lives go. After her backpack was full of any kind of treatment she could get, she made a run for it, running past some blankets and pillows along the way and also shoving a small pillow and blanket into her bag. She ran towards the exit, her footsteps as quiet as a cat's.

She panted as she arrived back where they had stopped, slowly walking towards the collapsed body on the ground. There was a severe cut on his calf, and blood leaked out it, spilling over already crusted or coagulated blood. It was obvious that this was an infected old wound."Why didn't you tell anybody?" She demanded a little harshly. The young man winced at her snap,and lowered his head in guilt. "I didn't want to worry anyone." He muttered. "Idiot." Gumi snapped lowly as she set her backpack on the ground, opening it up and bringing out alcohol. The man's eyes widened at the sight, knowing that the following events will be extremely painful. "Get ready, this is gonna hurt like hell." She muttered, twisting the cap off, and pouring it onto a large cotton ball. When the cotton ball was soaked and dripping with the alcohol, she made a quick move before anybody could react, and slapped the cotton ball on his leg. The young man screamed and thrashed a little, trying to contain his natural reactions. She grabbed another alcohol-soaked cotton ball and put it on the other side of the large wound, covering it. She waited five minutes before wrapping his leg in bandages. Standing up, she looked down at him as he stared at his leg, moving it a little. "Thank you." He says, truly appreciative of the act of kindness. The girl grabbed his hand and helped him up. "Don't sweat it, just let people know next time, okay?" The young man nodded, looking grateful. She walked to her place in the front of the crowd of people. "We're sleeping here tonight." She said as she picked up a small pillow and blanket and handed it to Yuki. "There, you can sleep with that tonight, Yuki." She murmurs softly to the girl. She hated seeing the child like this, cut and bruised up. Her childhood shouldn't be spent trying to run from death, or sleeping on the splattered blood of unknown innocents. Yuki smiled as she received the gift. She ran to a clear area, the older following at a steady pace. She scraped some glass and dirt out of the way and laid the pillow and blanket and sat down on it, scooting to the left a little and leaving half of the space available. The child patted the empty spot, eyes glittering with joy. "Come on! We can sleep together!" The girl smiled at her generosity, at least somebody could find a little joy in this hellhole of a world. She sat sat next to the girl and laid on the soft blanket she had brought from the store. Damn, this pillow was soft as hell. Were her last words before drifting into a deep slumber.

* * *

Oliver awoke to the sun of late afternoon shining on his eyelids. He groaned in discomfort. "Oliver, get the hell up. You are not supposed to be sleeping, we're about to leave, and if you don't get up, we're ditching you." He heard IA say as he rolled off his seat on the couch. He slowly stood up, his leg slightly aching a little from the carpeted fall. He rubbed his leg, and grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. "Alright, i'm ready." He said, his voice groggy. He followed IA and gakupo down the several flights of stairs to exit the building.

After entering the building without problems, the trio quickly sneak into the store to snatch IA's lost bag and backpack. Oliver was the one to grab the other thick, reusable grocery bag and IA grabbed her backpack and slung it over her right shoulder. Her gun was now strapped to her back, making her right palm free. IA turned to see Oliver face the exit of the pharmacy. Out the large windows they could see Gakupo, leaning on one. "Come on, Oliver. We need to run." Was all IA said before turning to the emergency doors. Oliver followed after her, relieved they retrieved the medicine with no complications.

They walked through the deserted city once again. Dead bodies lie on the curb as well as the one-way street. The sunset peeked through the fire-tinted clouds and the city buildings. Oliver gazed at the scene, almost losing himself to the beauty of the sky. But the sight warned them of an oncoming night, and they would need to hurry if they didn't want to mess with any of those things. Noticing thus, Gakupo sped his pace- his stride become longer and faster. It was hard for Oliver to catch up to the two's pace due to his short height, but he carried on, matching his pace with theirs.

"Thank god, you three are alive! Where have you been?" Aoki said as she and Luka rushed to the party, taking in the sight of their ripped clothes and scratches. "What happened? Where were you?" Thy both interrogated, worried for the three. The creature indeed did catch their clothes and IA's arm, but there were no real injuries. Aoki sat down, her eyebrows furrowed concern and her blue eyes sparking the red glow of sunset. Luka- it being her responsibility- wrapped the wound on IA's arm after dabbing it with an alcohol soaked cotton ball. He and Gakupo decide to take their loads to the supplement van, and return the medium sized tame fire. On their way back they get caught in yet another interrogation, this time being it their leader. "What happened." It wasnt even a question. That was a demand for an explanation. To his relief, Gakupo spoke first. "When we arrived at the pharmacy, one of those things attack us. We had. No choice but to flee into a business building." He elaborated, straightening his posture at their leader. Her response was a palm to her forehead, pushing back the brown locks of hair that covered her head. She eventually removed herself from their path, muttering something that Oliver couldn't catch.

After arriving back to the main fire, he seated himself next to his blue-haired friend. He felt some sort of feeling of impending doom, like he had lost all hope of living. Well, wasn't it? Nobody knew where- or when, this nightmare had they were being slaughtered without even being able to reach those goals they set in life. Piko always wanted be a great hacker when he would grow up, and Lui wanted to be a famous chef. _And their dreams were crushed, just like their life._ He remembers all the pranks Lui and Piko would pull on him and cracks a smile, it felt awkward due to him not exercising the expression in a while.

"Well, look who's smiling. What cheered your day?" Aoki commented teasingly, nudging him a little. It was clear she was trying to lift the mood. It was pike Ring used to do whenever she saw anyone down. Somehow, her cheery attitude and humorous joke always brought a smile to their faces. Everyone's faces. He looks at her, widening his smile ever so slightly. He didnt want to crumble the attempt of kindness she was pulling. _I appreciate the effort, Aoki..._ he thinks,staring off into the now sparkling stars of dusk. _...but even your light won't last long enough through this hell..._ The sun now disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving stars in it's absence. He sighed and leaned back into his seat, curling up in the chair. He laid his head against the armrest and fell asleep in front of the comfortable fire.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Apologies, this chapter is severely sketchy and the ending is choppy. I tried, I swear. I had a lot of writer's block on what to write in this. Hopefully the next chapter will be finished soon, considering the long wait for this one. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews, follows and favorites! And I will try my best to not to let my writer's block get in the way!**


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